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Pia Toscano's still smiling after 'Idol' elimination

April 8, 2011 | 3:29
pm

As crushed as so many of us were about Pia Toscano's surprising and sad elimination on "American Idol" Thursday night, by the end of the day on Friday, hopeful signs were emerging that the talented singer was taking her ouster in stride -- and that we haven't heard the last of her.

It turns out that Pia may have been the one person who wasn't completely surprised to find out she was headed home this week. "It’s funny because the night before I had a weird feeling in my stomach," she told reporters during a conference call Friday morning. "And I said to my parents, 'You know, I kind of feel like I’m going to be in the bottom three tomorrow. And they said, ‘No, no, be confident. You’re going to be fine. You’re going to be fine.’ And then when it happened, it was kind of like I expected it. It was weird."

She also said that she was less shocked to be leaving than upset that she wouldn't be able to perform next week, as she'd planned. But now that the news has sunk in, she says, she's "trying to stay positive and know that everything happens for a reason."

And she's pretty excited about the outpouring of love from fans and celebrities like Ellen DeGeneres, Ashton Kutcher, Tom Hanks, Snooki and Jennifer Hudson, among many others: "To have the support of a lot of celebrities right now and my fans is amazing," Pia said. "It’s the best feeling in the world.”

Thankfully, there's every indication that that feeling may last a while: Pia, who said during Friday's conference call that she's hoping to make a pop album "with an R&B influence with those big power ballads as well and those dance hits," was spotted entering a Los Angeles office building for a meeting with a record label on Friday, Just Jared reports.